Message:I have a 1998 Dakota 2WD Regular cab V6 3.9 no A/C. I need to replace the water pump and I want to do it myself. I wanted to know how difficult it is to get the fan assembly off of the water pump shaft. Are there any special tools needed, or is a set of sockets, wrenches, and srewdrivers enough?

I took off the water pump on my '99 a/c equipped and did it with "normal" hand tools. The fan assembly on your '98 is a lot easier to take off than on the '99.

Loosen the bolts on the water pump pulley about 1/2" so you can get a regular screwdriver behind the pulley. With the screwdriver in place (and holding the pulley from turning) remove the 34mm nut (counter-clockwise). I used a large adjustable wrench with a short piece of pipe for leverage.

You might have to remove the fan shroud as well, but that's only 4 bolts. You'll also want to (obviously) drain the coolant first and keep track of where the water pump bolts go as they're different lengths.

Besides the water pump and water pump gasket, you'll also need to pick up a new O-ring for the heater hose on the driver's side of the engine.

Message:Ha! That hose is as bad as the one on the slant-6. When the dealer did my timing chain recently, I had him replace the water pump and that hose as a precaution, so I'd never have to do it, especially unplanned in winter. I believe you'd have to get the fan, alternator, belt and A/C compressor out of the way.

Message:Please help, I've taken off the old pump and I'm just about ready to throw in the new one now.. Do I need to apply RTF sealant around the metal pipe that attaches the pump to the engine's cooling system?

It came with a fresh piece of black pipe, but the last one that was connected to the old pump was on there with some sort of sealant and the new one has a notch on it to where it looks like it should be sealed in with something "sealant, o-ring?" PLEASE HELP I have work soon and need to finish the job ! THANKS FOLKS!
-Smokey